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Press Release
Hundreds of Palestinian travelers have been stuck for days on the Egyptian side of the Rafah Terminal due to Israeli restrictions
Ref: 142/2002
Date: 26 December 2002
Due to Israeli restrictions, hundreds of Palestinian travelers have, for several days, been waiting on the Egyptian side of the Rafah Terminal to enter the Gaza Strip. Among the travelers are children, women and patients, who have been abroad to receive medical treatment. PCHR strongly urge the international community, and its organizations, in particular the ICRC, to immediately intervene to pressure the Israeli authorities to allow the travelers back into the Gaza Strip.
As a result of the restrictions imposed by the Israeli occupying forces, for more than two years now, the Rafah Terminal, between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, are almost always crowded with travelers. This situation has further deteriorated in the past two weeks on both sides of the terminal. PCHR’s field workers report that 400-600 travelers have been forced to spend two to three days on the Egyptian side of the Rafah Terminal under inhumane conditions and in extremely cold weather. They also report that the crisis is expected to further deteriorate as travelers continue to arrive at the terminal; many after having done the Lesser Pilgrimage (‘Omra) in Saudi Arabia during the month of Ramadan.
The Israeli authorities have tightened the siege and closure of the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the al-Aqsa Intifada. They have closed the Rafah Terminal completely or partially since the 8th of October 2000, which has sharply decreased the number of Palestinians traveling through the terminal. Furthermore, it has prevented thousands of Palestinians living abroad from spending their summer vacations with their families in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli occupying forces have also expelled all Palestinian officials and security men from the terminal, and have allowed only a small number of porters in. Furthermore, they decreased the work hours at the terminal to six hours a day instead of 24 hours. Consequently, the number of travelers has decreased to 200 per day, instead of more than 1000 during normal times.
The Rafah Terminal is the only border out of the Gaza Strip for Palestinians since Gaza International Airport was closed in February 2001. Gazans have also been prohibited from traveling through the al-Karama Bridge on the Palestinian-Jordanian border and through the Israeli Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv.
PCHR condemns these Israeli measures, which violates the rights of Palestinians to free movement. PCHR considers these measures an escalation of the policies of collective punishment practiced by the Israeli authorities. Consequently, PCHR calls upon the international community, especially humanitarian organizations, to immediately intervene to force Israel to stop their violations of the Palestinian human rights.
